Holding Back
by TheWriterWithHalfABrain
Summary: Gou was not a back person... but Makoto.


**(Author's Note—feel free to skip)**

 **Rated T for a few curse words and Gou's objectification of muscles. If you want to interpret any of this as shippy, go ahead; I do think Gou and Makoto could make a cute couple if done right, but this wasn't really written for that purpose. There is one short mention of possible HaruxRin if you squint.**

 **This silly thing has been sitting in my notes for a couple of months now, so I've added a few final edits to it and decided to take the plunge and post it. I usually have one or a few of my friends give me notes so I can get other opinions, but I've done the best I can on my own with this one. ^^' This isn't set during any specific time in the show, but I was inspired by a particular shot of Makoto's back from some episode in season one, so if you wanta reference, there you go.**

 **Keep in mind that I don't have very extensive knowledge of Japanese schooling, so I've taken some liberties with that. I have a small idea of the culture and general attitude towards school and such, but if there's something that doesn't seem to reflect Japan properly, I don't mean to offend—I'm honestly just clueless. Inform me over PM and I'll apologize and try to fix it as well as keep it in mind for future stories set in the country.**

 **Anyways, on with the story! Feel free to review; it's very appreciated and I could always use the advice. :)**

* * *

Gou was not a back person.

After being around shirtless male swimmers for a while, she knew what she liked and what she didn't like. Abs, pecs, biceps, _triceps—_ they all made her go weak at the knees and because of that, she had to hide a small fan in the bag that she brought to swim meets. If she was caught with it, she claimed it was for the heat—but of course, an excuse like that could only work for so long. It wasn't like her deep love of muscles wasn't humorously easy to catch onto or anything. She most definitely was _not_ made fun of by the guys for it.

...Obvious or not, Gou had long-since compiled detailed mental notes on the most attractive muscles of the male human body. Backs happened to fall at the bottom of the list of things she observed. It wasn't that they were _un_ attractive—she would just much rather stare at arms than backs. She usually ignored them completely.

Not today, it seemed.

Gou had learned from past experience that if she was going to sit in on a practice with the boys, she had to have some sort of paperwork in front of her: schoolwork, permission forms, a swimming regiment, _anything_ to keep herself occupied and not let her get distracted by her friends _'..._ assets _._

She didn't have much work to do that day. She had a test the following day in mathematics, but she'd gone over those problems so many times that she was sure she'd rip her work into pieces and throw it in the pool if she had to solve one more equation. There was nothing for the Iwatobi Swim Club she had to take care of, so that left literature. Her analysis wasn't due for another two weeks, but if she had nothing else to finish, she decided that she might as well start so she didn't have to worry about it afterwards. Gou wasn't a procrastinator.

After writing her first paragraph, she gnawed on the back end of her pencil thoughtfully. To give her mind a break, she looked up from her notebook and _oh my God what was that glorious sight._

It was _Makoto_ , of all people; he was by no means ugly (he was really a cutie,) but he just didn't have the appeal that Gou looked for—until now. He was stretching and sitting with his legs in the pool and she had made the mistake of placing her chair behind him—or he had made the mistake of practicing in the lane in front of her—but either way, this error had resulted in her inability to chew or much of anything else but gawk at him.

He brought one arm across his chest past his opposite shoulder, holding it in place with his other arm. His shoulder blades were prominent, too noticeable for it to be _close_ to legal. Japan _had_ to have some sort of law against that. She wasn't sure what tendons were in the back because of her disinterest in it before, but all she knew was that he had a extremely _toned_ back with bulging muscles in all the right places and the sun was shining right on it and reflecting perfectly and did he need sunscreen? Because she could totally rub some on his back if he needed sunscreen. Wouldn't want to burn that beau—erm, his back that would hit the water as he swam! That had to be painful, right? He had to take extra care of his back or else he might not be able to swim without it stinging!

She wondered if this was akin to what ran through perverts' heads when they stared up girls' skirts and tried to justify their actions. Or maybe it was what ran through Rin's head when he saw Haru stretch or swim, because he wasn't staring out of rivalry. (He _had_ to realize that at some point.)

But that wasn't all of it. No, the bastard had to immediately bring his arms up over his head and stretch them and not only did it show off his own 'ceps, it did even more things to his back and she started to wonder if it was molded by a god and if so she wanted to personally thank whichever one it was for their great craftsmanship.

She'd forgotten her fan. _Fan_ tastic. (She cringed at herself.)

But then it stopped and he stood and positioned himself to take off of the starting platform and _right when she thought it was over_ she got one last view of his ass before he dove into the water.

Gou shook her head, took the stupid pencil out of her mouth, and went back to working on her paper, but she must not have fully recuperated yet because by the time she came to her senses, she saw that she had accidentally written _back butt Makoto god_ on the line where her next sentence was supposed to start. She quickly erased it and, redder than her hair, tried to pretend it never happened.

Not before Miss Amakata caught a glimpse of it from her chair, conveniently placed behind Gou. The woman flashed a knowing grin and supposed she may have to ask Makoto how he felt about being a back-butt god or leave suntan lotion with a note telling him to use it and ask Gou for help getting his back.


End file.
